What Caught My Eye Online #19
Finding diverse books, book banning myths, multiple POV reads, and more
This is a great and important article from Kelly Jensen about the myths of book banning.
I loved this Jack Edwards video about reading trends on TikTok. He makes a good point about how books primarily read by women are often ridiculed as being fluff or less than. I always appreciate it when men are the ones calling out sexism and misogyny.
If you’re curious about what YA books are popular on TikTok, check out this list from Brightly.
Katie O. (a.k.a. The Mindful Librarian) shared this Kirkus Collections tool in her Notes. Kirkus says the site is “a curation service developed to help librarians find diverse books that meet modern standards of sensitivity and respect as well as high expectations for literary merit.” I have a feeling I’ll be using this a lot, both personally and professionally.
Lit Hib will help you learn what the books you’re giving away on the sidewalk say about you.
Lit Hub also considers what celebrity book clubs would be fun to join. I choose Michelle Obama, Donna Tartt, and Taylor Swift for my book club.
I typically love novels with multiple perspectives, and this list offers some good suggestions, especially Commonwealth and Everything I Never Told You. Both novels are excellent family dramas.
Marginalia is a great word, and it also makes for a good Substack post. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from Jillian Hess about all the different ways people write in their books.
I find multilevel marketing fascinating, so I enjoyed this piece from the New Yorker about its “unkillable appeal.”
Isabelle Rea considers the Container Store and a “well-contained life” for the Paris Review.
I bought a print of this new piece from David Gate. I always want to stay curious.
A friend shared the unfortunately named BookPecker website with me. The site has entries for nearly 15,000 nonfiction books featuring a brief summary and five bullet points with the most important ideas. This is no replacement for actually reading the book, but it could be useful for review or to help you decide whether or not you actually want to read a particular title.
This is a beautiful reflection on joy and Easter from one of my favorite Christian writers, Sarah Bessey.
Alicia McClintic is a great Substack and Instagram follow if you’re interested in books, food, and faith.
Speaking of food, do you ever wish you had two huge chocolate chip cookies? Now you can.
Thanks for reading! What's caught your eye lately?
I loved that essay by Sarah Bessey. Thank you!